Mayor shines spotlight on Chatham-Kent at Indian economic summit

A personal vacation to India offered an unexpected opportunity for Mayor Darrin Canniff to promote Chatham-Kent to a huge audience.

Article content

“India has been on my bucket list to go see,” said Canniff, who personally paid for the trip. “I’ve heard about the culture and the fact that it’s the world’s most populous country, so I wanted to see it.”

Article content

Canniff was being shown around the country by Chatham-Kent residents from India when he was invited to the Regional Industry Conclave economic summit in Ujjain as a VIP guest.

There, he met and was seated on stage with Mohan Yadav, chief minister – equivalent to a Canadian provincial premier – of Madhya Pradesh, a central Indian state of about 150 million people.

“I wasn’t expecting it,” said Canniff, who also was invited to speak.

“It was a great opportunity to highlight Chatham-Kent. . . (with) top business people from all over India at the conference,” he said.

Article content

Canniff said he talked about how Chatham-Kent and Ontario as a whole is the fastest-growing jurisdiction in North America – and that both are interested in trading with India.

He was interviewed by several Indian newspaper and television reporters, and an Israeli media outlet, he added.

“We were able to get the message out about Chatham-Kent quite a bit,” he said.

He also was included in posts on Yadav’s social media, Canniff said. “He’s a big deal in India.”

It was incredible how many people tried to speak with Yadav and take selfies with him at the conference, the mayor said.

It’s not the first time Canniff has promoted Chatham-Kent on a big stage.

In late January, he spoke about the municipality at the annual World Conference of Mayors in Orlando, Florida. He’s the first Canadian mayor to join the group.

Article content

Canniff also made a major entertainment connection at the Indian summit, meeting Mukesh Khanna, a famous Indian actor, talk show host and producer.

He told Khanna about Chatham-Kent’s FLICK (Filming Locally in Chatham-Kent) office, a pilot project aimed at bringing film and TV productions to the community.

He also invited Khanna, who’s never been to Canada, to visit Chatham-Kent.

The mayor said he typically does some kind of municipal work while on vacation, often calling into meetings.

“I’m always promoting Chatham-Kent wherever I am and this was an opportunity that kind of fell in my lap,” he said. “You never know where your next opportunity is going to come.”

If something comes of it, that will be wonderful, he added.

Article content